Matt King

Matthew Warren King (September 6, 1984 – July 9, 2022) was an American artist and co-founder of Meow Wolf, where he worked as senior vice president of creative direction until his death in July 2022.

Early life

King was born on 6 September 1984, to Mitzi King and Randy King, and was raised in Arlington, Texas. King attended high school and junior college before deciding that college was not right for him. Before co-founding Meow Wolf, he worked as an art handler, landscaper and food delivery person.

King has been described as a "self-educated philosopher who studies hermeticism and wanted to bring people together with his art." He was a lead artist on many interactive artworks including the Glowquarium installation and the Fancy Town at the House of Eternal Return.

Meow Wolf

King participated in the first meeting of the Meow Wolf art collective in 2008. During the early years, King and his collaborators created surreal and futuristic immersive art environments, and hosted music shows and events. In 2015, George R. R. Martin pledged $2.7 million dollars for a long-term lease and renovation of a vacant bowling alley in Santa Fe for the collective to develop a permanent interactive museum. By 2022, the company had grown to 980 employees, with a revenue of $158 million, and had served more than 1.5 million visitors. King was involved with over 34 Meow Wolf projects, many as the lead artist. Meow Wolf had announced, in May 2022, two new permanent interactive exhibition spaces in Houston and Grapevine.

Death

Matt King died by suicide in Santa Fe on July 9, 2022, at age 37. He was survived by his fiancée, Meow Wolf colleague Han Santana-Sayles, his mother, and a brother.